Place:Kingsbury Episcopi, Somerset, England

Watchers
NameKingsbury Episcopi
Alt namesKingsbury-Episcopisource: Family History Library Catalog
East Lambrooksource: hamlet in parish
West Lambrooksource: hamlet in parish
Thorneysource: hamlet in parish
TypeAncient parish, Civil parish
Coordinates50.985°N 2.809°W
Located inSomerset, England
See alsoKingsbury Hundred, Somerset, Englandhundred in which it was located
Langport Rural, Somerset, Englandrural district 1894-1974
South Somerset District, Somerset, Englanddistrict municipality covering the area since 1974
the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia.

Kingsbury Episcopi (#19 on map) is a civil parish and a village in Somerset, England. It is situated on the River Parrett 9 miles (14.5 km) northwest of Yeovil. The parish includes the villages of West Lambrook, East Lambrook and Thorney. The parish had a population of 1,307 in the UK census of 2011.

The "Episcopi" part of the parish's name can be translated from the Latin as "of the Bishop". It refers to the fact that the parish belonged to the Bishop of Bath and Wells and not to the nearby abbey at Muchelney.

The East Lambrook Manor dates from the 15th century. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building. Other historic buildings in the village include many old houses, the Wyndham Arms, the Wesleyan church, and an octagonal village lock-up that was used to detain drunks and suspected criminals.

Kingsbury Episcopi's church of St. Martin boasts an ornate Somerset Tower, 99 feet (30 m) tall, made of stone from nearby Ham Hill.

The church of St. James in East Lambrook dates from the 12th century.

Image:Langport Rural 1900 small.png

Governance

The parish was part of the ancient division known as the Kingsbury Hundredone of the hundreds or early subdivisions of the county of Somerset. From 1894 until 1974 it was part of the Langport Rural District.

In 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, all urban and rural districts across England were abolished and counties were reorganized into metropolitan and non-metropolitan districts. Kingsbury Episcopi has been in the non-metropolitan South Somerset District since 1974.

Research Tips

  • GENUKI page on Kingsbury Episcopi.
  • The Somerset Heritage Centre (incorporating what was formerly the Somerset Record Office and the Somerset Local Studies Library) can be found at its new location at Langford Mead in Taunton. It has an online search facility leading to pages of interest, including maps from the First and Second Ordnance Survey (select "Maps and Postcards" from the list at the left, then enter the parish in the search box).
    The Heritage Centre has an email address: archives@somerset.gov.uk.
  • Three maps on the A Vision of Britain through Time website illustrate the changes in political boundaries over the period 1830-1945. All have expanding scales and on the second and third this facility is sufficient that individual parishes can be inspected.
  • Somerset Hundreds as drawn in 1832. This map was prepared before The Great Reform Act of that year. Note the polling places and representation of the various parts of the county.
  • Somerset in 1900, an Ordnance Survey map showing rural districts, the boundaries of the larger towns, the smaller civil parishes of the time, and some hamlets and villages in each parish
  • Somerset in 1943, an Ordnance Survey map showing the rural districts after the changes to their structure in the 1930s
This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original content was at Kingsbury Episcopi. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with WeRelate, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.